Wike Tasks APDC On Housing For Expanding FCT Districts

No Result View All Result Home News Politics Business Sport Football Health Entertainment Education Opinion Editorial Columns Others LeVogue Magazine Conferences National Economy Contact Us Hausa Edition Home News Politics Business Sport Football Health Entertainment Education Opinion Editorial Columns Others LeVogue Magazine Conferences National Economy Contact Us No Result View All Result No Result View All Result Wike Tasks APDC On Housing For Expanding FCT Districts by Igho Oyoyo 4 seconds ago in News Share on WhatsAppShare on FacebookShare on XTelegram Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has tasked the Abuja Property Development Company (APDC) to reposition its operations to meet the growing housing needs arising from the expansion of districts and improved connectivity across the six area councils of the Territory.

Wike gave the charge at the 20th anniversary symposium of APDC in Abuja, saying the Federal Capital Territory Administration’s ongoing road construction and expansion of connectivity were opening up new districts and creating opportunities for housing development.

The minister, who was represented by the group managing director and chief executive officer of Abuja Investments Company Limited (AICL), Amb Maureen Tamuno, said APDC must ensure that its housing developments responded to the needs of residents.

He said the success of real estate development should ultimately be measured by its impact on households and communities rather than the size or appearance of buildings.

“Real estate is not about concrete, steel or glass. It is about households and families,” he said.

Wike said a house represented security and dignity for ordinary citizens and often constituted one of the most significant investments made by a family.

He urged APDC to adopt modern construction technologies and methods that could reduce building costs and shorten project delivery timelines.

The minister also called for energy-efficient and environmentally sustainable housing, as well as mixed-income estates capable of catering for civil servants and middle-income earners.

“Sustainability without affordability is incomplete. Innovation without inclusion is insufficient. Development without people at its core cannot endure,” he said.

Wike said APDC’s 20th anniversary provided an opportunity for the company to reassess its role in addressing the housing needs of the FCT and determine how it could deliver greater social value in the years ahead.

He said the company’s future developments should focus on creating communities that provide security and dignity for families while generating measurable economic value.

The minister said APDC had evolved over two decades from the property division of the then Abuja Investments and Property Development Company into a wholly owned subsidiary of AICL.

He added that AICL had provided APDC with strategic direction, corporate governance and institutional support through different economic cycles, assuring that the parent company would continue to support the company in attracting investment and strengthening its commercial capacity.

Meanwhile, the acting managing director of APDC, Akeem Kolawole Aderogba, while speaking with journalists, said the high cost of infrastructure remained one of the major factors driving up house prices in the FCT.

Aderogba said infrastructure accounted for between 30 and 40 per cent of the total cost of housing development, urging government to provide basic infrastructure in housing areas to reduce construction costs.

“If government can come to the aid of developers by providing infrastructure, it will reduce the cost of housing,” he said.

He proposed a model in which government would provide land and infrastructure, while developers would concentrate on construction, saying this would make housing more affordable for civil servants and other residents.

Aderogba disclosed that more than 800 families had moved into APDC’s 50-hectare estate at Kaba District, while another project at Kasana was expected to accommodate at least 200 families.

He added that the company’s development at Idogwari would provide about 150 additional homes.

According to him, APDC was also working with mortgage institutions to enable prospective homeowners to pay an initial deposit while financing the balance through mortgages.

He said the company had collaborated with the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria through the National Housing Fund to improve access to housing, particularly for civil servants.

Also speaking, the head of Business Development and chairman of the APDC 20th Anniversary Planning Committee, Emmanuel Abudele, identified the high cost of land and financing as major constraints to affordable housing development.

Abudele urged government to subsidise or regulate the cost of land allocated to developers, saying land remained a major component of housing costs.

“Land is the major thing in real estate development. So, if the cost of land is subsidised or regularised, then developers will have access to land, and building houses will be easier,” he said.

He also called for single-digit interest loans to housing developers, arguing that high borrowing costs were ultimately passed on to home buyers through higher house prices.

Abudele said although APDC was government-owned, it operated largely as a private entity and sourced its own funds and clients.

He said its major advantage was that government could allocate land to the company and allow payment in instalments, adding that APDC had relied on estate development loans from the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria during its early years.

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